PA: Editorial: The law says Amtrak gets priority over freight. It needs to be enforced

Talk of expanding intercity rail service in Pittsburgh is often greeted with a shrug. That's because for many, if not most, residents of southwest Pennsylvania, travel by rail is simply not practical. A new bill introduced in Congress by U.S. Reps. Chris Deluzio, D- Aspinwall, and Brendan Boyle, D- Philadelphia, aims to make American rail travel more efficient by giving Amtrak more leverage to force freight rail companies to follow the law — by getting out of the way.

At the same time, some of Mr. Deluzio's rhetoric demonizing railroad companies unnecessarily sets them up as a villain, and Amtrak as a hero, when the goal of railroad policy needs to be making space for both to thrive.

Amtrak's Pennsylvanian train is a wonderfully scenic ride across the Commonwealth, especially this time of year, but it takes nearly six hours to reach Harrisburg and eight hours to reach Philadelphia. That's nearly three hours longer than simply driving down the Turnpike. The same problems exist on the Capitol Limited, between Chicago and Washington. While some people have the time to spare, or just really like traveling by train, Amtrak will always struggle to gain market share against driving when it can't promise to be reliably faster.

For Pittsburgh, one of the biggest reasons for this problem, especially when traveling south or east, can't be fixed by any legislation: geography. But one problem can be mitigated. In fact, it's already addressed in federal law, but unfortunately that law is regularly ignored. And that's interference from freight trains, which grinds Amtrak trains to a halt and causes most of the delays for which the U.S. passenger rail system is sadly famous. Last year, Amtrak reported losing nearly one million minutes to freight rail interference, costing the system over $40 million a year in operating expenses and lost revenues.

The Railroad Passenger Fairness Act proposed by Mr. Deluzio and Mr. Boyle would solidify the rules codified in the 1973 Amtrak Improvement Act, which "mandated that intercity and commuter passenger rail be given preference over freight railroads in using a rail line." However, mechanisms to enforce this provision are weak. The RPFA would give Amtrak the right to sue freight railroads in court, significantly increasing the potential costs to the freight lines when they violate the law.

The U.S. rail system is different from its European counterparts in that it is mostly a freight system on which passenger trains operate, whereas across the Atlantic systems tend to be designed for passenger travel while freight trains struggle to find a place. This means that while the U.S. has an under-developed intercity passenger rail system, it has an unusually robust freight rail system.

Unfortunately, decisions made decades ago by policymakers and corporations have reduced the nation's overall rail capacity, forcing the U.S. to decide which usage to prioritize. The 1973 Amtrak Improvement Act was meant to give passenger rail a fighting chance, after the federal government relieved rail companies from the responsibility to provide passenger services three years earlier.

In pitching the RPFA to the public, Mr. Deluzio has accused freight rail companies of "putting profits over people." In this case, this rhetoric is unfair. Moving massive amounts of cargo across the country efficiently is good for people, too. America's emphasis on freight railroading is decades-old policy choice, not a corporate conspiracy.

The purpose of his and Mr. Boyle's bill shouldn't be about demonizing railroad companies, but enforcing existing law and striking the freight-passenger balance in a better place for everyone. It would do that, and it should be passed into law for that reason.

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